I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and article useful for reinforcing the holes made through non-woven upholstery material, particularly vinyl, suede and leather, employed in tufting upholstery and the like, and to the resulting article of manufacture. This invention is particularly adapted for use in reinforcing the holes made in vinyl tufted upholstery material during manufacture so as to prevent the button fasteners conventionally employed from tearing and stretching the holes in which they are positioned and thus avoiding the serious disadvantage of having the buttons pulled through the upholstery material rendering unsightly and unusable the pieces of furniture of which the upholstery is a part.
II. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art to reinforce the tufting hole made through fabric by fastening devices by means of a washer placed between the button head of a fastener and the outside face of the upholstery material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,097 to Shepherd discloses one such expedient. The patent discloses a device and method for reinforcing the holes made through fabric by fastening devices used in the tufting process, and, more particularly, it relates to an improved fastener support washer. The patent discloses a rigid washer, preferably glass reinforced nylon, which is utilized to support the fabric surrounding a tufting fastener hole. FIG. 7 of Shepherd illustrates a washer 18 with attached teeth 20 and barbs 22 positioned substantially perpendicularly relative to the base of the washer. Shepherd's preferred method appears to involve slipping one of the washers 18 onto a fastener 10 with the teeth 20 projecting away from the button head as shown in his FIGS. 7 and 8. The fastener 10 is pushed through the fabric and the button pulled tight so that the teeth 20 on the washer 18 actually perforate the fabric and secure the fastener 10. When the washer 18 is secured in place the barbs 22 on the teeth 20 prevent the teeth, and thus the washer, from being unseated as stress is placed on the fastener 10. Stress exerted on the button fastener 10 is spread over the larger area of the fabric covered by the teeth 20 and not exerted solely on the hole within the fabric. Shepherd states that spreading or tearing about the hole created by the fastener 10 is substantially and perhaps completely eliminated. Shepherd also suggests that the unseating of the washer 18 can be prevented in other ways than through use of the teeth and barbs. For example, adhesive can be placed on the base of the washer to adhesively affix the washer to the upholstery fabric.
The Shepherd patent discloses a washer, rigid in structure, which is utilized with an upholstery fabric, and is not disclosed for use with a non-woven tufted upholstery material such as vinyl, suede, leather, or similar materials. In fact, the teeth and barbs of the Shepherd washer penetrate between the yarns of the upholstery fabric, and if utilized with a non-woven material, such as a vinyl-type material, would cut the vinyl-type material with a knife-like action which would soon result in the button fastener being pulled through the more or less spreading cut edges of the material. Even if the disclosed adhesive were used on the back of a rigid washer (rather than the obviously preferred teeth and barbs) to fasten it to a non-woven material such as a vinyl-type material, the sharp edges of the rigid washer would also tend to exert a cutting action against the non-woven material with the cut rapidly spreading during use. Furthermore, the rigid disc-shaped washer of Shepherd would not adhere well to a non-woven material such as a vinyl-type material since it would not conform to the contours of the upholstery material, and the vinyl or similar upholstery material would not be as porous as the fabric upholstery material of Shepherd which facilitates adhesion between the washer and woven fabric.